FAQ

Kindergarten through 6th grade have their own curriculum.  Each grade level curriculum for K-2 is comprised of 24 lessons.  Lessons are designed to be delivered weekly throughout the school year in a 30-minute time block.  

The 3-6 curriculum is a universal and flexible curriculum that is now being recommended for grade 6.  This single curriculum contains 35 lessons, approximately 30 minutes in length.  Lessons can be distributed in third through six grades as the school desires or concentrated in grade 6.

In all cases, the curricula can be implemented flexibly to fit a school's needs, such as once a week throughout the school year, or twice a week for a single semester.  

The curriculum is designed to be taught to the entire class. With that said, the content is applicable and usable with a small counseling group, a small group of interested students, or in a before- or after- school setting. Ideally, this curriculum would be taught at all applicable grade levels and would contribute positively to the overall school culture and climate.

Yes! In 2025, Sources published new curricula for grades 3-5. These books joined curricula published a few years ago for kindergarten - 2nd grade. Schools can still use the Universal Curriculum for grades 3-6, but Sources is currently recommending the Universal Curriculum for grade 6. 

For 6th grade students, we recommend using the Sources program that it being used for the majority of the building population.  For example, 6th grade students in a K-6 or 4-6 building can continue using the Elementary Program lessons being implemented in other grade level classrooms.  

If the 6th grade students are in a 6-8 or 6-12th grade building, then we recommend implementing the Secondary Sources program with those 6th grade students.  We understand that different buildings can have different needs or requests. Thankfully, Sources is designed to be flexible and it's best to start with your school's needs as well as your staff's interest.  Please use this link if you would like to talk more about your specific 6th grade implementation.

No, in order to implement the program to fidelity, Sources of Strength (Sources) requires schools and community-based programs to send at least 1 - 2 staff to a Sources Coaches training prior to ordering curricula.

Coaches can be from a variety of positions such as classroom teachers, instructional coaches, mental health professionals, and school administration. Elementary Coaches will be trained in how to support the staff responsible for teaching Sources of Strength lessons (referred to as, "Instructors").

Coaches can train other Instructors in their school building in the implementation and instruction of the Sources of Strength Elementary Curricula. Coaches can provide professional development training, ongoing support, coaching, observations, and learning opportunities. 

No. Coaches will be trained once at a two-day Coaches Training, usually held virtually. There will be additional training opportunities and materials available to Coaches in the future.

As of January 2026, SourcesOH no longer has funding to cover the costs of curricula or training for new schools outside of Franklin County. Due to funding and support from the Columbus Foundation and the Ingram White Castle Foundation, funding is currently available to support new or existing Elementary Programs in Franklin County, through September 2026.

As of January 2026, SourcesOH no longer has funding to cover the costs of curricula outside of Franklin County.* Limited funding may be available to certify a new Coach for schools/community-based programs that previously had 1-2 certified Coaches in place.

*Due to funding and support from the Columbus Foundation and the Ingram White Castle Foundation, funding is currently available to support new or existing Elementary Programs in Franklin County, through September 2026.

Sources of Strength (Sources) curricula is designed from a comprehensive, strength-based model that focuses on the development of protective factors, as opposed to the more common deficit-based models of prevention. The design is centered on empowering young people to identify and integrate healthy living strategies that allow students to live flourishing lives. At its core, Sources is a wellness model, integrating upstream prevention strategies to increase healthy coping, resilience, connection, and belonging. Sources' Elementary Program incorporates much-needed mental health and prevention language in a developmentally appropriate and accessible way. Sources' Elementary  Program utilizes active learning to empower student voice and a growth mindset and to facilitate meaningful youth-adult connections.

The Elementary Program represents Sources of Strength (Sources)'s efforts to adapt its evidence-based secondary model to meet the developmental needs of younger learners. The Elementary Program is evidence-informed and based in trauma-informed practices, growth mindset, public health, prevention and mental health practices.  Sources has a fundamental commitment to evidence-based practice and Sources is working to conduct a Randomized Control Trial to establish this evidence-base with the Elementary Program.  

No, there are no required additional or ongoing costs once a school purchases the curricula and certifies 1-2 staff as Sources Elementary Coaches.

However, if a school loses their Coach due to turnover, they no longer allowed to implement Sources Elementary Program, per Sources of Strength.

No, the curriculum must be requested for each elementary building interested. 

Awareness and Buy-In –  This often includes training of a community/coalition on Sources of Strength, obtaining key administrative support and conducting a brief protocol review of handling distressed/suicidal students.

Identify and train Adult Advisors – Identify 2-5 adult advisors that will mentor a peer leader team. Train adult advisors in the Sources of Strength process in peer leader recruitment and their role in meeting and guiding peer teams during the action step phase. Adult Advisorsare a mix of school staff and community adults – school counselors, teachers, youth workers, spiritual leaders, friendly aunties – that have high relational connectivity with students

Recruit and Train Peer Leaders – Peer Leader teams are often between 10-50 students in size. The initial peer leader training is provided by a certified Sources of Strength trainer in a highly interactive, 3-4 hour training. It is mandatory that the local Adult Advisors participate in the peer leader training.

Peer to Peer Contacts and Messaging – After the initial training, the Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors begin conversations with other Trusted Adults and their 5-10 closest friends as well as create a wide range of Hope, Help, Strength messaging activities targeting a wider and diverse peer group. Sources of Strength provides a recommended step-by-step guide of peer leader activities but teams are able to adjust based on their readiness level and perception of what will work best in their setting.

A pattern of meeting together, planning, problem solving, and then going out and activating a variety of strategies is used in all settings.  Some teams meet as often as once a week, others less frequently, but all peer teams are encouraged to complete several of the recommended strategies and use Hope, Help, Strength messaging rather than shock, trauma, or sad messaging.  Sources of Strength and resources assist with peers connecting with adults and their friendship groups. Peer teams are encouraged and expected to share their creative efforts with other teams across the country via the Sources of Strength website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Every group is required to provide honoring and recognition events for the Peer Leader team.

Ongoing Support and Technical Assistance – Sources of Strength staff are always available to help with troubleshooting.
 

So much of Sources of Strength’s work is centered around collaboration with other programs and recognizing that we work better together! Our program is designed to be customized, so schools may add it into other prevention, leadership, diversity, academic, spirituality, and community programs, and more.

Sources of Strength is one of the national leaders in recruiting, engaging, retaining, and successfully using Peer Leaders to engage other students. An essential element of the program is the effective recruitment and training of Adult Advisors who display connectivity, care, and positivity with the students. The program provides not only the initial training, but also ongoing consultation designed to support Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors. Recruiting and supporting the right Adult Advisors is critical for engaging students. 

Recruiting diverse Peer Leaders from a wide variety of social cliques and groups is an essential element in achieving the widespread social network impact that is core to the Sources of Strength model. The program is grounded in an interactive learning model, in which a “fun factor” plays an essential part of student engagement. Sources of Strength demonstrates a wide range of games that can be incorporated into presentations and messaging campaigns. Making use of students’ music, art, interests, drama, social media, etc., adds to the engagement of other students. Peer input and ownership is also essential; while formatted campaigns are available, they are often adapted to fit the culture, tone, style, and opportunities available in the individual schools.
 

Schools and community implementation sites must schedule a one-to two-day training for their Adult Advisors and Peer Leaders.

The cost of these trainings is partially or fully covered by Sources of Strength Ohio (SourcesOH) through 2026.

Due to funding and support from the Columbus Foundation and the Ingram White Castle Foundation, funding is currently available to support new or existing Secondary Programs in Franklin County, through September 2026.

Yes, if a school commits to implementing Sources of Strength, a certified trainer will assist the provisional trainer with the Adult Advisor and Peer Leader trainings as well as be a continued resource for Sources of Strength.

A provisional trainer is a graduate of the T4T training and is focused on implementing the Sources of Strength Secondary program. The provisional trainer must receive assistance from a certified trainer to hold the Adult Advisor and Peer Leader trainings. Provisional trainers are required to complete 4 mini education sessions about Sources of Strength and co-train two Adult Advisor trainings and two Peer Leader trainings within 24 months before becoming fully certified.

Sources of Strength recertification training is required every 36 months from your last attendance at a Train the Trainer Training.

Sources of Strength is a radically strength-based, upstream suicide prevention program with shown effectiveness in both preventative upstream and intervention outcomes. Sources of Strength has been involved in several large randomized control trials and is one of the most rigorously evaluated and broadly disseminated prevention programs in the country. Sources of Strength is considered the first suicide prevention program to demonstrate effectiveness in using peer leaders to enhance protective factors associated with reducing suicide across a school population. Sources of Strength teams are active across the United States, Canada, Australia, and many American Indian/Alaska Native and First Nations communities.

Sources of Strength has been listed on the National Best Practices Registry (BPR) by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) since 2009. Sources of Strength has also been listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices(NREPP) since 2011. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s(CDC) 2017 Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices, featured Sources of Strength as an evidence-based Peer Norm Program stating:

“Evaluations show that programs such as Sources of Strength can improve school norms and beliefs about suicide that are created and disseminated by student peers. In a randomized controlled trial of Sources of Strength conducted with 18 high schools (6 metropolitan, 12 rural), researchers found that the program improved adaptive norms regarding suicide, connectedness to adults, and school engagement. Peer leaders were also more likely than controls to refer a suicidal friend to an adult (emphasis added). For students, the program resulted in increased perceptions of adult support for suicidal youths, particularly among those with a history of suicidal ideation, and the acceptability of help-seeking behaviors. Finally, trained peer leaders also reported a greater decrease in maladaptive coping attitudes compared with untrained leaders.”

The conclusion and designation of Sources of Strength as an Evidence-Based strategy has been promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and the National Institute for Mental Health.
 

National, peer-reviewed research has demonstrated Sources' outcomes. Linked below is a quick look at some of the key findings of an independent evaluation conducted by King Consulting during the 2024-2024 school year.  King Consulting surveyed students, Adult Advisors, and Peer Leaders at multiple Ohio high schools to determine what effects, if any, Sources has on the school.  Click here to learn more about the value of championing, implementing, and sustaining Sources of Strength's Secondary Program.  

Results
Sources of Strength significantly reduced new suicide attempts by 29%, even after accounting for student characteristics and recent sexual violence history.  Moderation analyses showed that this overall intervention effect may not have extended to students with more severe sexual violence victim histories.

Conclusions
Sources of Strength effectively recuded suicide attempts in high-school students overall, suggesting its potential for population-level impact.  This is especially important in the face of steadily rising suicide attempt and fatality rates amongh adolescents and young adults.  However, a cautious interpretationofthe evidence suggests that Sources of Strength may not prevent attempts among students with recent sexual violence contact victimization, highlighting the need for additional intervention work for this high-risk group.  

Read the full article here.

The Sources of Strength model offers a proactive, strengths-based approach to reducing risk factors and promoting protective influences that create safer, healthier environments.  To see how the Sources of Strength framework can be leveraged to prevent violence by building strong support networks, increasing help-seeking behaviors, and fostering a culture of belonging, watch the linked video from this year's virtual summit.  Additional Resource linked below.

Watch The Video

Shared Risk and Protective Factors for Violence Prevention

SourcesOH is covering the annual $750 licensing fee for all active Secondary Programs in 2026, effectively covering this fee for 2025-2027 school years for any program that completes the licensing fee form in 2026.

SourcesOH may request that schools contribute toward the cost of their next Adult Advisor and Peer Leader Trainings. Funding is available to cover 100% of this cost for a limited number of schools, including those in Franklin County*. In addition, several counties have Local Trainers who provide this training at no cost to local schools. 

Many Adult Advisors have the opportunity to attend a Regional Re-Training with Adult Advisors from other schools at no or low cost.

Please reach out to Evi.Roberts@OhioSPF.org or your Local Trainer to learn more about cost-sharing requirements and how to schedule Adult Advisor and Peer Leader Trainings.

*Due to funding and support from the Columbus Foundation and the Ingram White Castle Foundation, funding is currently available to support new or existing programs in Franklin County, through September 2026.

Sources of Strength requires payment of an annual $750 licensing fee that is being covered by SourcesOH in 2026. 

In addition, to-fidelity implementation requires Secondary Programs to host annual Adult Advisor and Peer Leader Trainings or Re-Trainings for their first three years, with additional Re-Trainings held every three years after that. Exceptions can be made in the event of turnover requiring more frequent training. 

Currently, SourcesOH is able to provide low or no-cost trainings. Please reach out to Evi.Roberts@OhioSPF.org for more information.